Click here for state-wide stories.
Priority Races
State Senate
California Election
How a new dredging approach could benefit a Marin County creek, protect Bay marshes
IT IS HARD TO THINK of a tidal marsh as being in danger of sea level rise. After all, it is already surrounded by water. But a tidal marsh — like the 100-acre wetland at China Camp State Park in southern Marin County — is essentially a water garden that depends on sunlight and shallow…
Review: Berkeley Rep’s ‘Monsters’ a poignant brother-sister story, with fighting
If the siblings in playwright Ngozi Anyanwu’s two-hander “The Monsters” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre are indeed the monsters that, in some ways, they see themselves, then we are all monsters. Big, the older brother, had certain dreams for his future, but has ended up as an accomplished, if not celebrated, mixed martial artist. He has long since moved…
Trump’s ‘gulag’: Wiener blasts plan to reopen Alcatraz prison as ‘waste, fraud and abuse’
On Friday, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, criticized President Donald Trump’s plan to reopen Alcatraz Island as a prison after Trump requested $152 million in a 2027 federal budget request to cover first-year costs. A news release issued by Wiener’s office said that the total cost of the project to reopen Alcatraz would be…
Billionaire blitz: Silicon Valley elites funnel millions into key California political contests
FROM A WIDE-OPEN GOVERNOR’S RACE to a bitter congressional contest, Santa Clara County has emerged as a key battleground in the tech industry’s bid to control California politics — and shield billionaires from a wealth tax. Two electoral fights have shaped the “Valley of Heart’s Delight” into combative territory. In the 17th Congressional District, incumbent…
Bay Area groups push back on California map that determines disadvantaged communities
Over 100 local organizations submitted letters to the California Environmental Protection Agency this week, raising concerns over proposed updates to a map used to identify areas with disadvantaged communities. CalEnviroScreen is a tool originally developed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or OEHHA, to identify communities most impacted by pollution. Since its…
Oakland Rep. Lateefah Simon promotes bill to give cities chance to keep sports teams
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, is one of the co-sponsors for a new piece of legislation that gives communities an opportunity to keep professional sports teams in their cities before their owners move the franchise to another location. The bill is called the Home Team Act, and it requires owners of sports teams to give…
Alvin Ailey troupe stages seven premieres in Cal Performances engagement
Alicia Graf Mack, a celebrated ballerina at Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has come to know Cal Performances’ Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley well, and is happy to be bringing the Ailey troupe to the East Bay this month. “It feels like a very special homecoming to come back to Zellerbach,” says Graf Mack, AAADT’s fourth artistic director,…
Ex-Oakland mayoral chief of staff sues city, alleges retaliation for voicing ethics concerns
A former top-level Oakland mayoral staffer is suing the city over claims that she was improperly fired after voicing concerns about possible ethics violations at City Hall. Leigh Hanson filed the suit on March 20 in Alameda County Superior Court alleging whistleblower violations and retaliation, among other things. Hanson was former mayor Sheng Thao’s chief…
Women entrepreneurs, investors convene in San Francisco to close startup funding gap
THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA is regarded as a leading region for startups, dominating the field globally year after year as a top recipient of venture capital funding. But the burgeoning startup economy has dragged its feet when it comes to investing in startups run by all-female founders, according to Founders Forum Group, a collection…
Autism Acceptance Month: BART features youth voices in station announcements
For the rest of the month, public announcements at BART stations will include the voices of youth on the autism spectrum. BART officials said the special PA announcements began Thursday, playing every 15 minutes to mark Autism Acceptance Month in April, and include voices of some of BART trains’ biggest fans. Cameron Clay, 19, and…
Air district fines Fairfield Budweiser brewery $2.3M over alleged emissions violations
The Budweiser brewery in Fairfield is on the hook for $2.3 million in fines over allegations that it produced elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide and installed monitoring equipment incorrectly, the Bay Area Air District announced. The alleged violations include elevated hydrogen sulfide levels in biogas going into the facility’s boilers, according to Air District officials.…
Vallejo school board reaffirms vote to shutter 3 elementary schools after legal concerns
The Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Trustees voted — again — to close three elementary schools following accusations of Brown Act violations surrounding their original vote to close the schools last December. On Wednesday, the school board voted unanimously to close Lincoln, Highland and Pennycook elementary schools at the end of the 2025-26…
‘Bay City Beat’ radio show: April 3-5, 2026
Bay City Beat is hosted by longtime journalist Leslie Katz and showcases a unique listing of weekend arts and cultural events around Marin County and the Bay Area. In partnership with Radio Sausalito, this show features fun events and exciting happenings that you will want to get out and enjoy. To hear the broadcasts, tune…
Newsom appoints 5 Bay Area superior court judges; names 2 to state building commission
Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced his appointment of new superior court judges in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Alameda County Superior Court Ernesto “Ernie” Castillo has been appointed a judge in the Alameda County Superior Court. He has been the owner of the Castillo Law Office since 2013 and was an…
Bay City Books: New books by NorCal authors-March-April 2026
These are among the new titles with local themes or released by local writers, listed in alphabetical order by author names: “Out of the Ballpark: How to Think about Baseball” by David M. Henkin Oxford University Press, 152 pages, $18.98, March 16, 2026 Cultural historian David M. Henkin, a San Francisco resident and history professor at the University of…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.